LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Down 0.8%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s share price dropped 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $260.59 and last traded at $262.40. Approximately 80,843 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 520,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 50,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,882,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 34,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 228.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 55,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,707,000 after purchasing an additional 38,839 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 74,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.